


Skin in the Game; Stay in the Game

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: King's College [15]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Baseball, Sunny afternoon, alex tries to learn how to play, john is a pretty alright teacher, lots of falsettos references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 10:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10358505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: That afternoon, sunny after a gruesome winter, was a perfect opportunity to take a walk that had brought them around to a vacant baseball diamond, and not too far from their dorm. John’s eyes lit up a little bit and he grinned. He had really missed that.Alex noticed the strange enthusiasm, cocked his head and put his hand on his hip. “Why are you so excited about this?” He questioned softly, brows knit. “It’s just a baseball diamond.”“It just brings back memories, I didn’t know we had one so close to home.” He chuckled a little, walked over and nudged the dirt with his toe. “You’ve never played?”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [indimitable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indimitable/gifts).



John had known Alex was bad at sports. Alex had sworn by that fact every time they had even walked by something even vaguely relating to sports. John had definitely been the more athletic one in high school, he had even considered becoming part of the Columbia Lions and joining the university’s baseball team, but he never really got around to it when tryouts came and went. Besides, his schedule was way too busy. He had brought along most of his gear despite that fact, though, having a feeling it would one day come of use. 

That afternoon though, sunny after a gruesome winter, was a perfect opportunity to take a walk that had brought them around to a vacant baseball diamond, and not too far from their dorm. John’s eyes lit up a little bit and he grinned. He had really missed that. 

Alex noticed the strange enthusiasm, cocked his head and put his hand on his hip. “Why are you so excited about this?” He questioned softly, brows knit. “It’s just a baseball diamond.” 

“It just brings back memories, I didn’t know we had one so close to home.” He chuckled a little, walked over and nudged the dirt with his toe. “You’ve never played?”

“God, no. I don’t even know if there was a league where I grew up.” There was clearly more that lingered unspoken on his tongue, but he kept it inside. Instead, he turned and smiled. “Teach me to play?” 

John’s eyes lit up, beyond excited about the opportunity. “Of course!” He grinned, bounced on his heels. “Wait here, I’ll go get my equipment!” 

Alex watched as John nearly sprinted back to his dorm, then leaned against the cage of the diamond. It was nice to see John that happy about something, strange as it may have been to him. John really enjoyed this for reasons beyond Alex’s understanding, and he wanted to be a part of it.   By the time John had returned, Alex was lost in his thoughts, having migrated to the bleachers and relaxed back against them. His eyes had fallen shut, and he was nearly dozing off in the sun. John barely resisted cooing at this, instead just dropped his bag by the dugout and went to wake him with a soft kiss. “Wakey wakey, Mr. Hamilton.” He cooed softly, nosed at his hairline. “Still wanna learn how to play ball?” 

“Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute…” He murmured, eyes still squeezed shut. He was, though, doing everything in his power to lean in closer to John’s touches. When he finally opened his eyes, he was met with quite the beautiful sight: The sun glowed through John’s curls, which bounced just slightly in the subtle afternoon breeze. He had a sweet smile on his lips, a sparkle in his eyes. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to Alex’s lips, then leaned back enough that Alex could sit up.  
 Alex did so after stretching for just a second, then he toon a moment to look John over. He was no longer in his t-shirt from earlier, or the torn up denim, but instead in a loose fitting workout tank and a pair of tighter fitting pants, hugging the curve of his hips and ass just enough that it got Alex’s attention immediately. 

His eyes went over every bit of John that he could, stopping to admire the way John’s muscles moved as he stretched his arms up over his head, twisted his torso and popped his back a few times. He glanced back at Alex and gave another smile, as bright as the afternoon sun he was basking in. 

How in the world did Alexander get so lucky? 

He shook himself out of that internal revelry, then sucked in a deep and slow breath. _Well,_ he thought to himself. _Here goes nothing_.   Alexander really was never one for sports. He would always choose the shade of the trees and a nice book over the sounds of he rowdy children where he grew up. That had, of course, resulted in him getting clocked in the head with soccer balls on more than one occasion, but in the moment it seemed better for him to suffer through the pain, That would always be better than physical activity with a bunch of other prepubescent boys.   With that thought in his mind, he realized he had always been a bit of a cynic. 

Anyway.   He walked over to what he was sure was “home base”, kicked at the dirt around it, watched as John re-situated himself at the pitcher’s mound, dusted his hands off on those pleasantly too-tight jeans, then struck what looked to be a proper position. 

John tossed the ball from hand to hand, then as high up in the air as he could, just to catch it again as it fell. Alex did whatever he could to not let John distract him again, which was proving to be quite the challenge for him.  
 Finally, appearing ready, John stretched one last time and dropped the baseball back into the bag at his feet. He came back over to Alex, the hefty wooden bat in his hand, and offered it over to him. 

“You realize I don’t know what I’m doing, right?” 

“Oh, I know. I’m gonna show you, don’t worry. Hold the bat. How do you think it should be held?” 

Alex knit his brow, stared at the object in his hands and quietly lamented to himself about the splinters he was sure to get. Oh well, it was worth seeing John this happy. He readjusted his hold of the bat, hesitating just a little bit, but he wasn’t too far off of the accurate hold. John placed his hands gently on Alex’s, readjusted them just a little. 

“There. Good.” He smiled, kissed his cheek. “Now, your stance.” His hands trailed down Alex’s sides, positioned his hips properly as his foot nudged at his calves to get them properly placed as well. “There, better. Okay. Now…” 

John sucked in a breath, stepped behind Alex and wrapped around him. His chin rested on Alex’s shoulder, and he let out a soft breath. “Now, I’m gonna teach you how to swing. Keep your head in the box.” John mumbled, trailing his hands along Alex’s arms after setting him into position. “Don’t think of anything else, just keep your head in the box. Got it?” 

Alex nodded a little, stabilized his stance and fiddled with the bat for a moment before gripping it again. 

“Eye on the ball.” 

Another nod. 

“Take a breath, then let it out, and…” John’s hands were on his elbows, guiding him through a motion. “Swing. You think you can do it?” He asked softly, grinned and nosed at the side of Alex’s neck. 

“Yeah, I think so.” Alex sounded more nervous than he should have, but he didn’t want to back down from this. “Let’s give it a shot.” 

John grinned and kissed his cheek before he ran to the pitcher’s mound and picked up one of the baseballs, tossing it into the air a few times and catching it, just to get the hang of the weight again. It had been a few years, but… 

“Take it easy on me.” Alex called over to him, tapped the bat into the dirt a few times and grinned. 

“I will. Promise.” John chuckled and stretched out a little, tossed the ball from hand to hand. “Now remember what I told you, remember how to move. Eye on the ball. I’ll do my best not to hit you, okay?” 

Alex couldn’t help but laugh at that. How reassuring, “trying his best.” He was going to get hit with the ball, he knew it already. 

Both took their proper position again. Alex forced himself to watch the ball and not John. John reared back, shifted positions just a bit before throwing the ball to Alex. It was obvious that he was holding back. 

Without thinking, Alex flinched away from the ball, and it hit the cage behind him. He knit his brow and whined a little. _Fuck._

“it’s alright. We’re gonna try again. I won’t hit you, just focus on the ball and swing the bat. Even if you miss, swing the bat, okay?” John called, grabbing another baseball from his bag. 

Alex knit his brow and nodded, stable once again in his spot. John smiled and threw the ball again.

Alex missed.

At least he followed through this time. 

“Good! Great! Okay, swing it a little sooner, alright?” 

“Yeah, okay.” Alex sighed. He wasn’t so sure if he liked this, but he could hear pride in John’s voice. He wanted to hear that again. 

John threw another ball, Alex managed to clip the end of it and send it rolling back towards John. He grinned and went to go get it, dust it off. “You doing good? One last try?”

“You think I can get it?” Alex frowned a little. He didn't like being bad at things.

“I know you can get it.” John assured, hurried over and gave him a quick kiss. “Just.. Take a breath. Exhale as you swing the bat. Focus is key, you can do it. I know you can do it. You wanna try again?” 

“Okay. One last try.” Alex agreed, nodded his head then bit his lip. He caught John in one last kiss before he ran back to the pitcher’s mound. Alex took his position again. Closed his eyes, swung the bat a few more times to get the feel of it. Opened his eyes again and looked at John. “Okay.” He called. 

John smiled, nodded to him and sucked in a breath of his own as he got ready. 

_Head in the box._

He saw John get into position. 

_Eye on the ball._  

John was ready to throw. 

_Take a breath._

Here it comes. 

   _Let it out._

Nearly there. 

_**Swing.** _

Alex swung the bat as hard as he could, and he heard something unfamiliar; the strike of the ball against the bat, the _whoosh_ as it rushed away, and John cheering, running towards him. Alex watched as the ball flew away, out of his sight. 

Had he really done that? 

John was wrapped around him, grinning and kissing all over his cheeks. “I knew you could do it! I’m so proud of you!” 

Before their festivities could continue, they heard the ball finally come back to earth with a crash. 

John jumped, glanced back with wide eyes. Alex was tense, and they both looked to each other with juvenile, embarrassed grins. 

Alex had hit the ball. Someone’s window was lost along the way, and they would definitely have to go pay for that, but Alex hit the ball. A feat he never thought he could accomplish. 

“I’m proud.” John murmured, squeezing him again. “But let’s go check that out before someone calls the cops." 

That wasn’t the ending they had expected to their sunny afternoon, but there it was. 

Hopefully, whoever owned that window would go easy on them.

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello hello! finally a KCS update! If you can tell, I don't know a goddamn thing about baseball! 
> 
> This came about when Indi, at my request, blindly sent me two prompts from different lists. They ended up being "Teach me how to play?" and "broken glass", so.. Here we are now! 
> 
> I have an idea of what may come next, but I'm unsure next, so we'll see. 
> 
> Until next time <3  
> -krys


End file.
